At this moment, all the cyberware that the major corporations treasured like priceless jewels lay neatly arranged inside Xiao's collection room, available for use at will.
It was obvious that Xiao had already acquired the complete core data of every major cyberware company.
V even spotted several pieces that had originally belonged to Arasaka.
Among them were some of the latest classified implants that she herself had once been responsible for safeguarding.
Yet now, those same items had appeared in Xiao's hands.
What made it even more unsettling was the recorded acquisition date—it matched exactly with the period when she had still been working at Arasaka.
And throughout all of it, she had never noticed a thing.
Xiao had taken everything right from under her nose without leaving behind even the slightest trace.
That realization left her feeling both frustrated and deeply shaken.
Fortunately, she was no longer an employee of Arasaka.
Whatever losses the corporation suffered had nothing to do with her anymore.
On the contrary, seeing Arasaka lose so much almost brought a sense of satisfaction to her heart.
A faint trace of schadenfreude rose within her.
"Camillo RAM Manager balancing, upgrade, and compensation three-piece set.
Self-ICE, visual cortex support, external drive, memory upgrade, bioconductor, monowire, reinforced bones, elastic joints, nanofiber, counter-shell, optical camouflage, subdermal armor, Kill Heal, Secondary Heart, Lynx Paws…"
Her eyes swept rapidly across the interface.
"And a modified Unity with a suppressor. Perfect."
Almost instantly, V completed her selections.
She had an almost instinctive sensitivity toward high-end cyberware, allowing her to quickly identify which augmentations best suited her combat style.
Of course, another major reason was that she had already used many low-end versions in the past.
She was more than familiar with their functions.
Holding a scalpel, Xiao casually cut open V's spine and asked in an almost conversational tone,
"You're installing this much cyberware at once. Aren't you worried about cyberpsychosis… or losing your humanity?"
V's reply carried a trace of helplessness.
"I'll figure out how to reduce the burden later."
Her voice was calm, but heavy.
"Right now, we're facing Arasaka. My most important task is to fight with everything I have… and survive."
There was deep powerlessness hidden in her words.
But she had no other choice.
Of course, she feared being eroded by data and machinery.
Of course she feared losing herself.
But fear alone solved nothing.
To rise to the position of Deputy Head of Counter-Intelligence, V had long since abandoned the innocence of her younger self.
"What a brave girl."
Xiao nodded with clear approval and snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, a stream of silvery-white liquid metal appeared out of nowhere.
Like a living serpent, it swiftly flowed into V's opened spine, seeping deep into her body and beginning its transformation.
"And what about your cyberdeck?"
Xiao asked while continuing his work behind her.
"What type do you want?"
V turned her head slightly and smiled.
"With this much high-end support, any deck would work."
Then her eyes settled on him.
"But as a netrunner… something like yours should be enough."
In truth, V did not know much about top-tier cyberdecks.
Up until now, she had only ever used the standard Arasaka Model 5 issued by the company.
But with Xiao's resources and strength, she was certain he possessed something far superior.
Possibly even something on the level of Hanako Arasaka's personal system—equipment she had never even had the chance to see.
"My operating system isn't suitable for you."
Xiao shook his head and explained patiently.
"Mine includes cyberdeck functions, yes, but it's fundamentally a close-combat combat OS built around Sandevistan and Berserk modules."
Then he suddenly produced a beautiful chip that shimmered with a purple-blue glow.
"But…"
A faint smile curved his lips.
"I do have something much more suitable."
He raised the chip slightly.
"The Purification Operating System."
His voice grew almost proud.
"It's an assassination-focused system built around a cyberdeck."
"Once activated, it not only greatly enhances stealth, but also comes with Berserk functionality and localized time-stop effects."
He looked at her expectantly.
"Well? Want to try it?"
V thought for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
"Alright. I'll take it."
Then she added without hesitation,
"Also install Kerenzikov, Nanorelays, and the Synaptic Accelerator."
These three nervous system augmentations were the perfect companions for Sandevistan-class time manipulation.
Without them, its full potential could never truly be unleashed.
After that, V continued requesting even more cyberware.
Under Xiao's hands, the transformation proceeded at an astonishing pace.
In almost the blink of an eye, most of her body had already been replaced and reinforced by Cyber Aura.
She was rapidly becoming an assassination machine.
The entire procedure took almost no time at all.
With complete technical blueprints already available, Cyber Aura could instantly replicate any recorded technology.
Once the modification was complete, V felt only a slight tingling sensation along her back.
The incision rapidly healed under Cyber Aura's overwhelming regenerative capabilities.
Not even the faintest scar remained.
"All done."
Xiao lightly patted her smooth back and said softly,
"Get up and feel your new body."
Yet the moment his hand touched her—
something seemed to trigger.
A layer of chitin-like armor suddenly began growing from beneath V's skin.
It spread rapidly across her body, wrapping around her like a living shell.
The sleek, form-fitting armor perfectly outlined every curve of her figure.
Even more strangely, the shell seemed alive.
As V moved, it shifted and adjusted fluidly with her body.
Then—
her figure vanished.
In an instant, V disappeared from the laboratory entirely.
She had activated Optical Camouflage.
Complete stealth.
"Wow…"
Her voice echoed from every direction.
"This stealth shell is incredible. There's no sound… no scent at all."
Her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, making it impossible to determine her position.
Then—
Pfft—
A nearly imperceptible sound sliced through the air.
A monowire as fine as a strand of hair shot forward at terrifying speed.
In the next instant, V had tightly bound an alloy cube so hard it was practically indestructible.
She gave her wrist the slightest flick.
Instantly—
the metal cube split apart.
Countless slices, each thinner than cicada wings and nearly transparent, fell apart in perfect layers.
A flash of astonishment lit up V's eyes.
"This monowire…"
Her voice was full of disbelief.
"It's also built using modified nanotechnology."
Then she turned to Xiao.
"This is nanotech from the Mechanicus, isn't it?"
Her expression was filled with admiration.
"Thank you so much."
A fierce smile appeared on her lips.
"With this…"
"I feel like I could take on Adam Smasher now."
As far as V knew, there was currently nothing like this on the market.
At this level, all it would take was a single cut.
Against the human body—
it would slice through flesh and bone instantly.
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